The Iranian attack on Israel has been a distraction from the war in Gaza, but Israeli military operations continue there with the aim of eliminating Hamas, the armed group that controlled the territory before the fighting began.
The Israeli military launched its assault on Gaza after October 7, when Hamas carried out an attack that Israeli authorities say killed around 1,200 people. Israel has said its goal is to defeat Hamas and free the hostages taken that day, around 100 of whom remain in Gaza. Local health authorities say the war has killed more than 33,000 people, and the United Nations says the population is in decline. on the verge of starvation.
Here is an overview of the situation of the military conflict:
Southern Gaza
Israel withdrew his forces southern Gaza this month, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army still planned to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, to “complete the elimination of Hamas battalions” and destroy its tunnel networks.
The timetable for a possible operation in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is unclear. President Biden is among several world leaders who have urged Israel not to invade the city because of the damage it could cause to civilians. Rafah’s population has reached more than a million, as people gather there to shelter from fighting elsewhere, and southern Gaza border crossings are the main conduit for humanitarian aid.
Northern Gaza
Israel began its ground invasion into northern Gaza in late October, calling on civilians to leave. Much of the north, including Gaza City, has been destroyed by airstrikes and ground fighting. Israel began to draw one’s strength from northern Gaza in January, claiming to have dismantled Hamas’ military structure there.
In March, however, Israeli troops staged an operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where they said Hamas fighters had returned. Israeli troops said they had killed around 200 fighters and captured another 500. The hospital, once the largest in Gaza, was left in ruins.
Some analysts said the raid showed that by leaving northern Gaza without a plan to govern the region, Israel had made Hamas’ return possible. At the same time, some civilians who had fled south and tried to come back via a coastal road said this week that Israeli forces had fired on them. Their testimony could not be independently confirmed.
Central Gaza
Israeli troops remaining in Gaza are mainly guarding a road that the army built through the center of the Strip to facilitate its operations. The Institute for the Study of War, a research group, said this was consistent with Israel’s plans to move to a strategy of more targeted raids rather than broader assaults.
Israel retains the ability to launch airstrikes anywhere in Gaza and has carried out several around the central town of Deir al Balah. This month, Israeli planes attacked a convoy of the World Central Kitchen charity near the city, killing seven aid workers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel regretted the strikes.
Throughout the territory
Experts say the Israeli military has achieved considerable success in dismantling Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has shattered the strength of most of its battalions through tens of thousands of airstrikes and ground combats, said Robert Blecher, an expert at the International Crisis Group think tank.
Israel also killed at least one Hamas member senior commanders and has destroyed some tunnels in which the group operates. But Hamas retains significant organizational and military capabilities, particularly in southern Gaza, where its network of tunnels acts as a shield, and its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwaris still at large.
“Israel has done a good job neutralizing these more powerful battalions,” Mr. Blecher said, but added: “Hamas is going to remain an insurgent force.”
